Lead halter



April 4, 1967 M. L. REED 3,312,039

LEAD HALTER Filed 001;. 22, 1965 INVENTOR MAR/7771 L. REED z/mv 4270mm y United States Patent Ofiiice 3,312,030 Patented Apr. 4, 1967 3,312,039 LEAD HALTER Marietta L. Reed, El Paso County, Colo. (6000 Wilson Road, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80907) Filed Get. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 501,148 Claims. (CI. 5424) The present invention relates generally to animal halters, and more specifically, to a lead halter for wild or spirited animals to which it may be desirable to apply certain pressures with the halter in order to achieve proper control.

Devices of somewhat similar nature have been seen in the prior art, such as the halter disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,098,336; however, it is the primary purpose of the present invention to go beyond the prior apparatus and to improve the versatility and efliciency of this type of halter.

Briefly, the novelty of the present harness invention resides in the provision of a single chin chain, the approximate center of which passes under the chin of the animal wearing the harness and the two ends of which are respectively directed through a pair of rings connected to the headstall and disposed respectively on the two sides of the animals head, and thence downwardly through a single ring repending from the throatlatch to a terminal point where either or both of the ring ends of the chin chain are available for connection to a lead strap or similar restraint.

A preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a horses head upon which the halter of the present invention has been fitted.

FIGURE 2 is a low rear view of the halter showing a normal position of one chin chain end ring and a second position of the said ring in phantom to demonstrate the change of position of the end ring when pulled by a lead rope.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken from the front of the halter showing the course traversed by the chin chain with respect to the nose band which is shown in the illustration.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the halter showing a modified position of the pressure chain adapted to fit over the bridge of the animals nose.

Referring now to the drawings, the halter is shown in FIGURE 1 as it would be worn by a horse. The halter 10 is conventional in its basic construction, having a headstall 12, comprising a crown 13 which is positioned around the back of the head rearwardly of the cars, a nose band 15 and a throatlatch 18. The nose band is attached to the lower terminus of the cheekpiece 20, a portion of the headstall 12, and is connected at right angles thereto by means of rings 22a and 22b on each side of the halter. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the chin member 25, which for most purposes is constructed of small link chain with large end rings 26a and 26b secured to each end thereof, is passed through each of the side rings 22a and 22b so that the central portion of the chain 25 is directly under the lower jaw of the animal. The free ends of the chin chain 25 are arranged to each pass through a retainer ring 28 which is held in place beneath the animals head by a central strap 30 slidably fastened to the throatlatch 18. After passing through the retainer ring 28, one end of the chain may be passed through the end ring of the other end of the chain, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, or each end ring may be free of the other, as in should have a somewhat smaller diameter than that of the end rings 26a and 26b so that the chain ends will not slip back through the retainer ring.

As will be obvious from an examination of the drawings, tension applied to either or both of the end rings will tend to pull the chin chain 25 taut and apply a squeezing pressure to the tender under side of the horses jaw. If only one of the end rings is pulled by the attached lead strap 32, the pressure will tend to be localized on that side of the jaw to which the direct tension is applied, whereas if both rings are interconnected or pulled together, the pressure is equalized but may be more severe.

As expressed earlier in the disclosure, one objective of the present halter is to provide versatility in the arrangements which may be devised to achieve the correct combination of control and comfort, depending on the animal which is wearing the halter. In addition to the modes of using the halter already explained, it should be noted that the entire function of the chin chain 25 may be eliminated by pulling down the central portion of the chain so that the central off-pressure link 34 may be hooked together with the two end rings, thus preventing pressure from being applied to the jaw. In fact, were the lead strap 32 to be applied directly to the central link 34 instead of the end rings 26a and 26b, the same offpressure etfect would be achieved.

In some cases, it is desirable to apply the control pressure to the bridge of the nose rather than beneath the jaw, and to such circumstances, the halter of the present invention is readily adaptable, as illustrated in FIGURE 4. In placing the halter upon the horses head, the chin chain is merely raised to a position above the nose as indicated by reference numeral 25a in FIGURE 4. Pressure may be applied across the nose portion of the horses head by applying tension to either or both of the end rings 26a and 26b as described above when the chain is ernployed under the chin.

Having thus described the several useful and novel features of lead halter of the present invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the many worthwhile objectives for which it was designed have been achieved. Although but a few of the several possible embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, I realize that certain additional modifications may well occur to those skilled in the art within the broad teaching hereof; hence, it is my intention that the scope of protection afforded hereby shall be limited only insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a halter having a headstall, including a crown and an attached pair of opposed cheekpieces, adapted to encompass the head of an animal, a pair of rings respectively disposed at the lower terminus of the said cheekpieces, a nose band attached at each of its ends to the said rings, the improvement comprising; an elongated flexible member whose central portion lies between said rings and which passes freely therethrough and is freely suspended by said rings and whose free ends depend therefrom; and retainer means connected to the headstall through which the said ends of the flexible member are trained.

2. The halter of claim 1 wherein the retainer means comprises a throatlatch having its ends connected to the said headstall, a central strap slidably connected at its one end to the throatl'atch, and an open link connected to the opposing end of the said central strap through which link the ends of the flexible member are trained.

3. The halter of claim 1 and further including a second link attached to the flexible member at its midpoint and between the said two rings.

4. The combination of claim 2 and further including ring means secured to each end of the flexible member and sized so as not to pass through the said open link.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 wherein one 10 end of the flexible member passes freely through the ring means attached to the other end of the flexible member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 432,414 7/1890 Knight 54-24 1,556,362 10/1925 Silbert 5424 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner. HUGH R. CHAMBLEE, Examiner. 

1. IN A HALTER HAVING A HEADSTALL, INCLUDING A CROWN AND AN ATTACHED PAIR OF OPPOSED CHECKPIECES, ADAPTED TO ENCOMPASS THE HEAD OF AN ANIMAL, A PAIR OF RINGS RESPECTIVELY DISPOSED AT THE LOWER TERMINUS OF THE SAID CHECKPIECES, A NOSE BAND ATTACHED AT EACH OF ITS ENDS TO THE SAID RINGS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING; AN ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MEMBER WHOSE CENTRAL PORTION LIES BETWEEN SAID 